


starving for mercy

by ArchWolfGoldrinn (InkStainsOnMyHands)



Series: A Life You'd Choose [1]
Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Angst, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Morning Sickness, Nausea, Near Death Experiences, Parent/Child Incest, Pregnancy, Prequel, Trans Male Character, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:20:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27473419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkStainsOnMyHands/pseuds/ArchWolfGoldrinn
Summary: Genn kneeled, dropping into Anduin’s direct line of sight. His piercing gaze commanded Anduin’s entire attention, no matter his internal protests. “Anduin, Light forbid your father from passing on, but should the worst happen, he deserves to know of the baby in your belly. It might even give him the strength to carry on.”Prequel to "Daydream of a Life You'd Choose"
Relationships: Anduin Wrynn/Varian Wrynn
Series: A Life You'd Choose [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2007331
Comments: 8
Kudos: 10





	starving for mercy

The Lion Seat provided Anduin little in the way of comfort. No, its polished stone felt cold and unforgiving beneath his quivering fingertips. At its sides, golden statues - struck in the feline symbol of Stormwind - seemed to only snarl in protest of his presence. And its empty cushion mocked Anduin for his unworthiness to sit upon it. 

Jolts of intense, unstoppable panic sparked up Anduin’s spine. 

Nausea - not courage - finally forced him to take a seat. He placed his feverish, sweat-slick forehead against an armrest. His body shivered despite the heat radiating from his insides. Oh, what was he going to do now? 

How would Anduin lead his people through the Legion’s demonic invasion? Let alone while he fretted over his father’s fel-ravaged body? 

Only held together by woven threads of Light, death would have been a mercy for Varian. Yet, Anduin could not bring himself to regret wrenching his father from Gul’dan’s clutches. 

_After all_ ...Anduin placed a hand over the flat of his belly. Beneath his fingertips, new life blossomed within his womb, blooming from his father’s seed. And although their relationship could never be made public, possibly not even to their own child, he would be damned if they were robbed of Varian’s precious presence in their lives. 

_If only Varian would stop shivering and whimpering in pain..._

The thought caused Anduin to lurch forward. Vomit did not hit the cool marble floor, but a waste basket presented beneath his chin. How this small mercy came to be, Anduin didn’t have the wherewithal to contemplate it. The only notion within his mind centered on his gratitude for the basin. _Now I won’t have to bother the staff with my mess._

Once Anduin had no more to give, he peered up to find Genn staring down at him. His nose wrinkled even as his eyebrows pitched above concern-soft eyes. 

“I’m sorry,” Anduin apologized, seeking to be pardoned for so many things. Becoming sick. Falling pregnant. Sneaking onto Varian’s airship. Saving him with an ill-timed _Leap of Faith_. Being too inadequate as a beacon for his people while their rightful king recovered. 

“It is the way of things,” Genn simply replied between pulled lips. He set Anduin’s sick aside. “Mia reacted the same in your condition.”  
  


_Condition…_

  
“You knew.” Anduin didn’t pose it as a question.  
  
Genn tapped the bride of his nose. “You can’t hide anything from this nose.” 

Silence, thick and suffocating, hung between them for several heartbeats. Then, Genn coughed, “The father...he will not be in the child’s life, will he?” 

In that instant, angry words collected behind Anduin’s tongue, dammed only by his polite sensibilities. _How dare you!? How could you ask such a thing!? Now is not the time for this! My father is_ dying _!_

“I can’t talk about this right now,” Anduin managed to eek out around the lump of emotion in his throat. 

Genn nodded once. “I see. You lost your husband, then?”  
  
_What?_ Anduin quirked an eyebrow at Genn. 

“Yes, yes, you had a whirlwind romance,” Genn ‘recalled’. He placed a comforting hand on Anduin’s shoulder. “But duty called him to action, and so you only had time to elope. And by the Light’s good fortune, you were blessed on your wedding night, weren’t you? Given a babe to keep his memory alive?” 

_Oh, I see._ Anduin bit the corner of his bottom lip. His sky-blues settled on the space between his thighs. “You knew,” he replied once again. 

Genn’s fingers tightened their hold on Anduin, beckoning his focus. “You should tell your father.” 

Anduin shook his head. Tears blurred his vision. His lips warbled. _I can’t. I can’t. I can’t._ “I-I can’t.” 

Genn kneeled, dropping into Anduin’s direct line of sight. His piercing gaze commanded Anduin’s entire attention, no matter his internal protests. “Anduin, Light forbid your father from passing on, but should the worst happen, he deserves to know of the baby in your belly. It might even give him the strength to carry on.” 

_The strength to carry on..._ not just for Varian, but for Anduin, too. 

Anduin had to see his kingdom through its strife, if not for his father, if not for his loved ones, if not for his citizens, then for the gentle life nestled inside of him. 

Anduin nodded. “I’ll go to him.” 

* * *

_In and out, in and out, in and out_ , Varian's labored breathing came as only a small relief. Yes, his father continued to live. But Anduin despised the pained sweat upon his pinched brow, visible even from the doorway. 

_How could I have done this to him?_

Guilt shackled Anduin's feet, keeping him from taking the empty chair at his father's bedside. He had no right, not after - 

"Go 0n, Anduin," Genn implored with a whisper beside him. "Take his hand. Speak to him. Varian needs you, my boy. He needs his child." 

Anduin did not miss the inflection used on the last word; Genn did not mean the prince. 

For their babe, Anduin crept into the room on lead feet, reminding himself that their child bore none of his sins. Whatever Anduin deserved or didn't deserve, that did not fall on the tiny spark dancing in his womb. 

After a stuttering breath, Anduin plopped into the empty seat, bone-weary. He shivered as he took Varian’s hand into his. Ice floated in his blood. "Father, I -" 

Varian’s eyelashes fluttered. A grunt worked its way out of his chapped lips. He awoke! 

Elation burned away his melancholy - until Varian grumbled, "Anduin?" 

Anduin recognized that warning tone. _Uh oh_. He swallowed. "Yes, father?" 

Varian inhaled through his nose. Without opening his eyes, he hissed, "You left…" 

_Ah. Here it comes._ Anduin braced himself for the verbal lashing he had earned. 

"I-I couldn't stay, not while -" Anduin attempted to convey. It wasn't an argument, simply an explanation to temper Varian’s anger to prevent aggravating his injuries. 

"- no, Anduin. You could have perished!" Varian barked between harsh pulls of whistling air, his agony and stubbornness equally as obvious. 

Frustration mounted in Anduin’s belly. For all his previous anxieties, Varian still retained the means to lecture him. He rolled his eyes; if only he would allow him to speak, he wouldn't suffer so needlessly. "I know, but -" 

"I went to fight the Legion for you!" Varian croaked. "My sacrifice would have meant nothing had you gone down with the ship!" 

_Stop! Just let me talk, old man!_ "I understand, Fath-" 

"Do you? Do you understand how irresponsibly you acted? Take aside my feelings, the last thing Stormwind needs is a power vacuum and-" 

_Enough!_

"I'M PREGNANT!" Anduin shouted. 

The world stopped spinning. Time froze. 

Varian opened his eyes and stared at him. His mouth hung agape. 

For the briefest of moments, Anduin feared Varian would be unhappy by the news. The wolfish grin suddenly stretching his lips, however, quickly assuaged that tension. Varian leaned over the side of the bed, wincing all the while, to place his large, quaking hand over Anduin's lower stomach. 

"Father!" Anduin scolded with little venom. "Lie back. Don't move." 

"Baby," Varian asserted, as if it were a viable dispute. Softly, almost inaudibly, he murmured, "My baby?" 

Anduin smiled, relaxed his shoulders, and nodded. "Of course." 

Varian, seemingly satisfied, pulled away to rest against his pillows once more. Breathing even, features at ease, and eyes clear, Varian appeared almost-blissful. He patted the space next to him on the bed. 

Anduin glanced over his shoulder, relieved to find the door closed and the room empty. _Thank you, Genn._ Coast clear, he scurried to the empty space beside his lover to finally, _finally_ seek respite. 

  
  



End file.
